Just over two decades ago, a group of surgeons realized there was a need for an outpatient surgery center in Lawrence.

They knew that surgery centers filled a niche as an alternative to hospitals — and they also saw that Lawrence was one of only a few bigger cities in the area that didn’t have a surgery center of its own.

“Outpatient surgery centers began popping up everywhere,” said Dr. Scott Thellman, a physician with Lawrence Plastic Surgery. “These surgery centers were offering a lower-cost option to hospital operating rooms and were designed specifically for outpatient services. The hospital operating rooms were very busy and were having trouble meeting the growing needs of our community. Adding a surgery center would help relieve some of the overcrowding.”

That was the idea behind Lawrence Surgery Center. It opened in the early 2000s in partnership with Lawrence Memorial Hospital — now known as LMH Health — and has grown substantially over the past two decades.

And it now has a new home on LMH Health’s West Campus that can perform more types of procedures than ever before.

Surgery centers vs. hospitals

What is a surgery center, and how is it different from a hospital? A hospital is staffed and equipped to treat all types of medical problems. But surgery centers like the Lawrence Surgery Center are designed exclusively to perform outpatient surgery.

Surgery centers often have a greater focus on convenience and easy access, and they try to minimize the stress associated with surgery.

One of the biggest differences between surgery centers and hospitals is that a surgery center doesn’t have an emergency department. That means the surgeons at the center are able to work more efficiently, because they don’t have to adjust to life-or-death emergency cases like a hospital does.

Dr. Jennifer Hawasli, a breast surgeon with Lawrence Breast Specialists, said that Lawrence Surgery Center still takes some patients “on a semi-urgent basis when needed,” however.

“If it is a case that can be taken care of the same day, we try to work with those patients,” Hawasli said.

Room to grow

Lawrence Surgery Center got its start in a space at Sixth and Maine streets, but it wouldn’t stay there forever. The surgery center got so busy that it was outgrowing its space, and both the center and LMH knew that something needed to change.

“After serving patients for about 20 years at Sixth and Maine, the Lawrence Surgery Center needed room to grow,” said Jared Abel, vice president of strategy and clinic operations at LMH Health. “The first conversations we had about building a facility in West Lawrence were because of this whole idea of having a larger, more comprehensive and technologically advanced surgery center.”

Talks about the West Campus started in 2015, and the center opened several years later, in 2020. Abel and Thellman said the new space was designed not only to do more of what the center already offered, but also to provide new types of procedures.

Much of the transition happened during a difficult time for the medical field — the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Not only did we open the center, we added new equipment, procedures, surgeons, operating rooms, staff and entire service lines like total joint replacement and breast cancer surgery at a time when staffing and supply shortages were widespread,” Thellman said. “Here we are, a year and a few months later, and I can say that the team at the center has done the amazing work.”

“The old center was fine, and we were able to care for many patients, but we outgrew it,” he said. “We now have more space, better equipment and room to grow in the future. It’s not easy to look ahead in health care, but I’m excited to see how we’ve evolved and grown and am confident we’re well positioned for the future.”

Some members of the Lawrence Surgery Center team have been there since the beginning, but the center has added some new surgeons, as well. One of them is Hawasli, who joined in 2020.

“Coming on board and joining the Lawrence Surgery Center was amazing,” Hawasli said. “It is hard not to love coming into a brand new, state-of-the-art facility. When you open a center, you get the latest in technology, new equipment and you get to offer this to your patients, which is incredible.”

Hawasli likes the fact that the West Campus houses many different services in the same building, so that patients don’t have to go from one facility to another to get their care. She also enjoys the variety of cases that the West Campus handles — breast surgery, general surgery, orthopedics, plastic surgery, gynecology and more.

“I can provide the surgery needed for my patient and do a mastectomy, but then also can collaborate with plastic surgery on their reconstruction,” she said. “We have all the tools and equipment needed to perform many levels of surgeries and being able to collaborate to give the best care possible is a great thing.”

Which providers use the center?

The following clinics see patients at the West Campus for surgeries: Lawrence Breast Specialists, Lawrence Podiatry Center, LMH Health General Surgery, Sunflower Pediatrics Eye Care and Strabismus (SPECS), Lawrence Plastic Surgery, Pelvic Health Specialists, Plastics Surgery Specialists of Lawrence, OrthoKansas, Lawrence Otolaryngology Associates, Lawrence Anesthesia PA and Lawrence OB-GYN Specialists.

For more information on which providers from these clinics perform surgeries at the surgery center, you can call the center at 785-832-0588.

— Jessica Thomas is the social media and digital communications specialist for LMH Health, which is a major sponsor of the Journal-World’s Health section.